Overview
- Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits and withdrawals on Monday after detecting and saying it contained a security incident in one of its systems while its security teams investigate and track assets.
- Independent analysts including Hypernative and Arkham Intelligence reported suspicious transfers they estimate at roughly $40 million to $46 million across more than ten blockchains, a figure the exchange has not confirmed.
- Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino said the issuer froze more than 4.5 million USDT tied to the traced addresses, a measure that blocks movement of those tokens but does not itself return funds to victims.
- The exchange published destination wallet addresses on Bitcoin, EVM‑compatible chains, Solana, Stellar and Tron to aid tracing and maintained that customers suffered no losses and no data leaked while withholding technical details and a reopening timetable.
- The incident follows a run of high‑profile hacks, including the Oct. 29 Binance theft, and has prompted coordinated tracing, exchange actions and law‑enforcement involvement even though freezes and tracing do not guarantee recovery of all assets.